About Cedar Mountain Banjo

For most of his life, woodworking has been a passion for Lo Gordon. In 1993 Lo and Mary sold their wooden garage door business and moved to Brevard to persue their dream of opening a music store and starting a banjo making business,   At the time of the move, Lo had been playing the banjo for a number of years and had made several banjos for him and for friends.  It was during this time that Lo discovered a natural talent for banjo making.

Having moved to North Carolina, Lo and Mary opened their music store, Celestial Mountain Music, in downtown Brevard and started Cedar Mountain Banjos. In the midst of this transition, they continued to perform with their family band with sons Tim and Matt Gardner.  Over time, the music store became a central hub for the local music scene. In addition to merchandise, Celestial Mountain Music offers top-notch instruction and instrument repairs.. 

While Tim and Matt ventured off to seek their own musical paths, Lo and Mary continue to remain active in traditional old-time music. They often perform in various musical lineups for local dances and events, as well as teach lessons, and attend festivals. The Tuesday Night Old Time Jam, hosted by Lo and Mary at Celestial Mountain Music has spawned a vibrant local old-time music scene and is an "institution" in the region. In 2005, the Friends of Florida Folk awarded Lo and Mary the Edward Lee Flemming, Jr. Award and Cousin Thelma Boltin Award for their musicianship, spirit, and service to the old-time music community.

Cedar Mountain Banjos has also enjoyed success, as banjo players around the country began to take notice of the fine artisanship and design of Lo's banjos. Today notable players such as Sheila Kay Adams, Mary Cox, Hilary Dirlam, Darin Gentry, Diane Jones, Dan Levenson and Linda Williams endorse his banjos.

In 2003, the Five String Banjo Exhibition at the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, Belgium invited Lo to exhibit examples of his work. The museum is a scientific institution of the Belgian government and has over 1200 instruments on display.  The exhibition was October 16, 2003 until February 15, 2004. More recently, Cedar Mountain Banjos has received various regional awards for craftsmanship and authenticity.

Presently, Lo and his son Tim continue to grow Cedar Mountain Banjos.  Tim has taken over most of the day-to-day shop duties, while Lo focuses on new concepts, designs, and methods that will better suit CMB customers and the banjo market as a whole.